Panel advances plan to boost Arkansas officials' salariesLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas panel advanced a proposal Monday to more than double legislators' pay and substantially raise other elected officials' salaries, but cautioned the plan could change if the thousands of dollars in expense reimbursements lawmakers currently receive aren't eliminated. The Independent Citizens Commission called for the pay hikes in an initial review of salaries for the state's legislators, judges and constituti...

Bill would bar expansion of local anti-discrimination lawsLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas lawmaker has proposed legislation that would bar local governments from making it illegal to fire someone or evict them based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Republican Sen. Bart Hester of Cave Springs on Monday filed a bill that would bar cities and counties from adopting ordinances or resolutions that would create a protected classification or prohibit discrimination on a basis not contain...

Arkansas House would let victim relatives witness executionsLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas House members are supporting a proposal that would let family members of murder victims witness executions in-person. Lawmakers voted 95-0 Monday to permit adult family members to attend the execution of a person convicted of killing a relative. The proposal keeps an attendance cap of 30 but provides an exception for family members. Relatives of victims can currently ask to watch via closed-circuit television ...

2 suspects arrested in shooting death of store clerkARKADELPHIA (AP) — Arkansas State Police say two Pine Bluff, men have been arrested as suspects in the shooting death of a convenience store clerk in Arkadelphia. The Texarkana Gazette reported Saturday the suspects were arrested in connection with the Sunday morning shooting death of Christopher Brown, 24, during an apparent robbery at Jordan's Kwick Shop. The suspects were arrested in Pine Bluff and are being held in the Clark County jail in...

1 killed in single-vehicle crash in Lee CountyMARIANNA (AP) — Arkansas State Police say a Moro man was killed and another man was injured in a single-vehicle crash near Marianna in Lee County. Troopers reported that Cody Robert Beard, 25, died in the accident Friday on Highway 79 just west of Marianna in eastern Arkansas. An accident report stated Beard was eastbound when the car he was driving went off the roadway and struck a tree. The report stated a passenger in the car was taken to a...

Police: 1 arrested in shooting death of Perryville manPERRYVILLE (AP) — Arkansas State Police says one person has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man from northwest Arkansas. Perry County deputies responded to a disturbance call at a home near Perryville, where they say they found William J. Bates, 31, of Perryville dead on Wednesday night. One person, whose identity wasn't released, was taken into custody at the scene. The state's police agency says charges are pending as sp...

Panel would more than double legislators' payLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas legislators' pay would more than double and most constitutional officers and judges would see significant salary increases under a plan given initial approval Friday by an independent commission. The Independent Citizens Commission, created by voters last year to set elected officials' salaries, called for the pay hikes to be included in its initial review. The plan is far from final, with the panel set to vote on t...

Little Rock Zoo announces births of maned wolf pupsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Little Rock Zoo says two maned wolf pups were born at the zoo recently and are faring well. The pups were born to maned wolves Gabby and Diego on Dec. 21. The Little Rock Zoo said their breeding was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquarium's Species Survival Plan. Maned wolves are threatened in their native habitats in South America because of deforestation. The animals are known for their long legs and reddis...

College to study adding optometry schoolCONWAY (AP) — A central Arkansas college says it will study whether it's feasible to establish an optometry school, which would be the first in the state. University of Central Arkansas officials say a health-care consulting group has been hired to outline the pros and cons of developing the school on its Conway campus. The study, which will examine current and projected needs of optometrists in Arkansas, is set to start in March and finish by...

House committee OKs abortion-inducing medication measureLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House committee approved a proposal Thursday to require a doctor be present when women take abortion-inducing medication. The Public Health, Welfare, and Labor committee Thursday voted to send the bill to the full House. The measure would prevent any instance of the medication being administered through telemedicine — which does not currently happen in the state — and require that doctors make "all reasonable eff...

House approves governor's tax cut proposalLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson's campaign promise to cut taxes for the middle class by $102 million moved a step closer to reality Thursday, with the House giving near-unanimous support to a plan that also would repeal portions of a 2013 capital gains tax break. By a 95-2 vote, the House approved a proposal to cut income taxes by 1 percent for those making between $21,000 and $75,000 a year. Hutchinson, a Republican who was sw...

Boozman, colleagues introduce bill to lift Cuba travel banLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman has joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce legislation that would lift restrictions on travel to Cuba. Boozman, from Arkansas, joined seven fellow senators Thursday to introduce the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015. The legislation aims to address the Obama administration's proposal to loosen travel restrictions to Cuba and remove restrictions on banking transactions incide...

State Senate OKs 'private option' Medicaid plan, task forceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Senate voted Thursday to keep the state's compromise Medicaid expansion for another year and create a task force to look at alternatives for the hundreds of thousands of people receiving coverage through the first-in-the-nation initiative. By a 29-2 vote, the Senate decided to continue the "private option" through June 30, 2016. Crafted two years ago as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the federal heal...

UAMS startup gets $14.5M to develop therapies for meth usersLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences startup company has received $14.5 million in federal grants to develop drug therapies aiming to help methamphetamine abusers break their addiction. The company, InterveXion Therapeutics LLC, will develop therapies to reduce or prevent the euphoric rush that drug users crave by keeping methamphetamine in the bloodstream and out of the brain — where the drug exerts its most powerf...

Ouachita, Ozark-St. Francis forests begin prescribed burnsHOT SPRINGS (AP) — The Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis national forests will be conducting prescribed burns in Arkansas and Oklahoma over the next several months. Park authorities announced the burns on Thursday. The burns are designed to re-establish fire's natural role in the forest ecosystem, improve forest health and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires. Prescribed burns are conducted when conditions indicate that there will be minim...

State board votes to take over Little Rock School DistrictLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Education voted Wednesday to take control of Little Rock schools less than six months after a federal judge granted more independence to the historically embattled district and ended a quarter-century of payments to boost integration. The state last year classified six of the district's 48 schools as being in academic distress after fewer than half of the students attending them scored at proficient lev...

Panel advances effort to continue Medicaid planLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to keep Arkansas' compromise Medicaid expansion structure through 2016 advanced to a Senate vote Wednesday, as lawmakers rejected a bid to abolish the program by this year's end. The Senate Public Health Committee endorsed legislation that would create a task force to look into alternatives to the current "private option," while the Joint Budget Committee passed the funding bill that would reauthor...

3 sentenced to more than 32 years for drug traffickingFAYETTEVILLE (AP) — An Arkansas prosecutor says three people have been sentenced to a combined total of more than 32 years in federal prison for drug trafficking offenses. U.S. Attorney Connor Eldridge says 27-year-old Leonel Padilla of Springdale was sentenced to more than seven years in prison followed by four years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine. Eldridge says also sentenced were 49-year-old Andres Diaz of Barstow...

Police: Woman used hammer to burglarize pharmacyASHDOWN (AP) — The police chief of a southwestern Arkansas community says a woman used a hammer to break into a pharmacy to steal about 3,000 pills. Ashdown Police Chief Mark Ardwin says the 33-year-old woman was a former employee of the Walgreens pharmacy. He says she was arrested about an hour after officers were notified the business was broken into Monday night. He tells the Texarkana Gazette (http://bit.ly/1zaOgMc ) that after breaking th...